Many have not understood it, but the ordinance of Cassation on non-approved speed cameras (arising from the contestation of a fine, in Treviso, which was cancelled) does not mean that any limit can be violated on any road. The ordinance it dates back to April 22nd, and since then many motorists, including those from Verona, have thought it was a «free everyone». And so, the devices installed in the city recorded an authentic boom in fines: in May there were 5,712, compared to 3,502 in the previous month (and also compared to 3,386 in the same month of 2023). Unfortunately, the numbers have also increased go off the road for speeding: less than 10 in all last year, but already 5 in the month of May alone this year.
«After the sentence, growing violations»
The municipal councilor for safety, Stefania Zivelonghinotes that «unfortunately the numbers speak clearly: after the news of the Supreme Court ruling, motorists worsened their behavior violating the limits to a significantly increasing extent of speed on our roads.” And the commander of the local police Luigi Altamuraexplains that «the speed cameras continue to be operational and we are waiting for provisions by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of the Interior, but in the meantime – continues Altamura – we are worried about road accidents which are increasing again even where the number had collapsed, and we have found speeds of 137 kilometers per hour, as at a racetrack.”
Approval and homologation of detectors
In April, the Court of Cassation declared speeding fines detected by speed cameras to be illegitimate. not approved. The Court had pointed out that all the speed cameras in circulation today are simply «approved» by the Ministry and not also «approved», when instead it is a question of two procedures autonomous and distinct. According to the Court of Cassation, approval is a preliminary phase, while approval is a definitive confirmation of the device’s compliance with current regulations. The actual consequences of that decision, however, await a precise interpretation of their meaning: and in the meantime, the speed cameras continue to be in operation.
The controversies
The controversies inevitably multiply. In Bologna, after the clash between the mayor and minister Salvini on this issue, the number of devices in operation has been increased in recent days. There is also controversy in the Dolomites, near Cortina d’Ampezzo, with Legambiente taking sides in favor of the monitoring devices. Controversy multiplied, finally, after the so-called “Autovelox decree” launched by the government (on the initiative of Matteo Salvini himself) which restricts the possibilities of control with fixed devices on the roads. In this regard, a comment by the municipal councilor Michele Bertucco should be noted according to which that decree “marks a further and heavy step backwards in the protection of road safety and in the correct management of mobility in our country”.
